Public transport has traditionally been a “local” issue. State and territory governments (and, in Brisbane, local government) have been responsible for planning and delivering services. In a number of Australian cities, there are local advocacy groups like PTCBR which lobby their respective governments for better investment and delivery of public transport services.
But that is changing. The Federal Government is increasingly investing in public transport infrastructure. And as the world grows closer, it’s becoming evident that there’s a need for national support to help coordinate and deliver local and long distance public transport.
This is why a number of groups and advocates have joined together to prepare a pre-budget submission for the 2025-26 federal budget. We currently go by the not very catchy name of “Australian Public Transport Advocates”, but it is relatively early days, and we’re excited about what we might be able to do together in future.
We appreciate that most of our efforts are still best spent at the local level. However some relatively modest increases in federal funding and coordination will go a long way to improving local outcomes.
PTCBR would like to thank all the groups who contributed to this submission, including:
- Public Transport Users Association (Vic)
- Action for Public Transport (NSW)
- Transport Action Network (SA)
- Canberra-Sydney Rail Action Group (ACT & NSW)
- RAIL Back on Track (Qld)
If you’re involved in advocating for better public transport and would like to be part of this, please email us: we’d love to have you involved!